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Qualitative Methods in Agricultural Development

Course content

The knowledge and skills acquired through this course is
recommended for for academic work at all levels including thesis
work. It is a good choice for students interested in research
design, methods and methodology in general. Examples are drawn
mainly from natural resource management and agricultural
development in the Global South.

The course thus complements general skills in qualitative methods
with a view to get the full benefit of subsequent thematic courses,
thesis work and post-graduate careers.

In the course, we follow the research process from defining the
research problem over research design, to selecting the appropriate
methods, and then proceed to the main topic of the course: the
process of qualitative data collection and analysis.

Specifically, the students will acquire knowledge in the following
fields:
- Very basic introduction to theory of science and different kinds
of knowledge
-Knowledge on available qualitative methods. Some knowledge about
quantitative methods and mixed methods. Understanding pros and cons
of each method and of combining them
- when and how to apply selected techniques for data collection
(including interviews, questionnaires, participatory appraisals;
participatory observation);
- How to plan for data collection
- how to ensure the quality of qualitative data
- how to analyse qualitative data

The main aim of the course is for the students to obtain
essential skills in relation to conducting qualitative research,
including in developing countries. The students will demonstrate
that they have obtained these skills through their contributions to
group project reports, and through oral exams.

The objective is that at the end of the course, the students can
demonstrate that they

Knowledge:
1.Can describe the research methods, the theoretical aspects of
these methods, and other aspects of data collection which have been
introduced during the course, compendium and classes

Skills:
2. Can formulate a research question and/or a research problem, and
can define and make the key concepts operational for an empirical
enquiry in the field.
3. Can identify and choose research methods suitable for answering
a particular research question/problem given a particular empirical
context
4. Can argue convincingly for their choice of methods referring to
theory as well as to the given empirical context.
5. Can elaborate a realistic time line for field research
6. Can apply the research methods and concepts introduced in the
course
7. Can analyse data and draw conclusions in relation to a given
research question/problem and reflect critically on own choice of
methods and quality of data.

Competences
8. Through the project work, the students will demonstrate that
they can work in a team under time pressure

This course is open to all students who want to improve their
skills, competencies and knowledge about qualitative data
collection methods. It is strongly recommended, however, that you
have a bachelor degree. Examples will often be taken from a
developing country context, but you can benefit from the course
also if you have other interests.